Le Grand Echafaudage, Quartiers de demain, Le Mans
The Quartiers de demain international consultation aims to mobilize innovation and architectural excellence to address residents’ needs, support the ecological transition, and create a multiplier effect. The Sablons complex embodies a dual legacy: an ambitious vision of the functional city and a fragility in both use and image. Rather than perpetuating demolition-and-reconstruction strategies, the project seeks to de-radicalize modernist space by activating its latent potential: permeable ground surfaces, a continuous landscape framework, flexible working environments, reversibility towards housing, and the production of urban biodiversity.
Three main strategies guide the project:
A zero-waste construction process integrated into the 6R framework: refuse, reduce, repurpose, reuse, recycle, reinvent. The ambition is to develop an innovative and exemplary operation that goes beyond current standards and aligns with a true zero-waste approach.
A neighborhood hub in the form of a cooperative: a participatory project in which residents actively contribute to implementation and directly benefit from its economic and social impact. Located on the ground floor, the cooperative brings together residents and micro-businesses through shared workshops (kitchen, mechanics, electronics), activates collective spaces, and cultivates the rooftop terrace. It advocates for local needs, combats gentrification, and creates connections between external businesses and the neighborhood.
The PARU (Urban Renovation Learning Program): the site becomes a living laboratory — a construction process that prepares future generations, creates new professions, and fosters learning on and around the project. PARU transforms renovation into a collective and continuous process involving residents, companies, apprentices, and project owners throughout all phases: design, construction, and maintenance. By focusing on material reuse, bio-based materials, and environmental mediation, PARU promotes local know-how, encourages social inclusion, and strengthens community cohesion.
The Grand Scaffold is conceived as a collective, open, and evolving tool: it becomes a school, a field for experimentation, and a foundation for building a more resilient and supportive society.
mandate type: International competition for the renovation of a commercial building and public spaces
client: Cénovia Cités, Le Mans Métropole, GIP EPAU
period: 2025
program: Restructuring of the Lafitte building and redevelopment of adjacent public spaces
services provided: Architectural design, zero-waste strategy, cooperative development, implementation of a learning construction site
architecture: Raum404
architecture: Estran
programming: Alphaville
commercial strategy and development: Bérénice
structure and facades: TESS
environment, energy, and building systems: Eléments
building economy: A.N.M Ingenierie
images: TheBigPicture
project lead: Oscar Buson
site area: 6‘5000 m2